Check Archway to see if the agency information there is relevant to this appraisal and adequate to cover the structure of the agency, and the functions and activities of the records being appraised. If not, please supply the following information:

Name of public office: name of the records-creating/controlling public office.

Alternative name/s: has the public office been known by any other names? If so, what and when?

Public office’s physical location/s: where was the public office located and when?

Year established: the year in which the public office was established and how. This can usually be traced to legislation or regulations which should be noted.

Year disestablished: leave blank if the public office is still operating.

Name of controlling public office(s): does/did the public office report to another? If so, to whom and when?

Name of controlled public office(s): does/did another public office report to it? If so, which one and when?

Then provide a précis of the public office’s operating and administrative history,
including:

• major functions and activities
• major operational or structural areas
• any re-structuring that may have impacted upon the records
• names of predecessor or successor offices.

Replicate this where the appraisal covers records from more than one creating/
controlling public office.

Try to:

• give clear details of the office and its functions when appraising records created by a public office other than the current controlling one
• include relevant copies of documentation from other sources as an appendix
  (e.g. published histories, pages from annual reports, entries from the Directory of Official Information, classification structures, etc).

Try not to:

• regurgitate details from obviously slanted sources such as annual reports without analysing them first. The details should be an objective statement about a public office’s formation and function, not a repetition of material designed mainly to promote its work.